To See and Seem
by Wallthorn
Summary: Sequel to Dreaming by Day. As Mel said, It Goes On. Now that Jericho is dead and her plan is done, the newly reformed Titans are faced with a new set of challenges, including the return of supervillains Brother Blood and Phobia. What none of them suspect, however, is that this time their greatest challenge may lie with those they have sworn to protect...
1. Chapter 1: Bits and Pieces

**Edit: Sorry guys, wrong doc...  
**

**Author's note: This story is a sequel and will not make sense unless you read **_**Dreaming by Day**_**. And review. Preferably.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. If I did, they wouldn't have been cancelled.**

_**"Maybe instead of strings it's stories things are made of, an infinite number of tiny vibrating stories; once upon a time they all were part of one big giant superstory, except it got broken up into a jillion different pieces, that's why no story on its own makes any sense, and so what you have to do in a life is try and weave it back together, my story into your story, our stories into all the other people's we know, until you've got something that to God or whoever might look like a letter, or even a whole word..."  
~Paul Murray**_

**Arch 1, Chapter 1: Bits and Pieces**

Alone in her cell, the girl took a deep breath. This was one of the rare moments that she could. They were doing everything they could to break her, but she would not let them. She could not let them. A pair of wide green eyes refused to let her go. Or was she the one who could not let go?

_Focus._

She looked up. She could see it now, the world she loved and lost in. She could see it, still shifting, waiting for her return.

_Soon._

So many strands, constantly weaving forward. So many people meeting and leaving, living and dying, crying…

Six months, that's all she had to endure. Then she could finally return. Six months…

How much could happen in six months?

_Watch._

All the little threads of people, constantly spinning and entwining, constantly conflicting. All the little bits and pieces weaving themselves into a reality…

So much happening at once. How to keep track of them?

_Wait for me._

* * *

_The day of capture, two strands…_

The news was on. Rose and her mother watched as the Tower in Steele City burned.

"You don't think she'll still do it, do you?" She asked her mother.

Adeline Kane shook her head. "I almost wish she would." Then, noticing the surprise on her daughter's face, added, "If she truly wanted to end the world, she would have skipped the dramatics."

"Right." Rose seemed unconvinced. Suddenly, her pocket vibrated and beeped. She pulled out the Titan's communicator Cyborg had slipped her before she left Jump. Curious, Rose flipped it open. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she glanced at her mother and left the room quickly.

"Dad?"

"Hello, Rose."

"How- What-"

"Melody is sleeping. I took her communicator to make this call. She's planning on ending the world tonight. I need you to go to Gotham-"

"Hold on, I thought you were working with Mel."

"I've been keeping an eye on her. I don't disagree with her reasoning, but I do have a world to protect, if only for my last living child."

Rose could think of nothing to say, though her chest suddenly felt warm and heavy.

"But the Titans will need back-up tonight, Rose. I want you to go to Gotham and find Robin, take him back with you to your brother's grave. Understand?"

Rose nods.

"Good. Hopefully I'll see you tonight, daughter."

_Say something! _"Dad?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

Slade's expression softens. "I love you too, Rose."

* * *

_Four months, three strands…_

What Nightwing had been too preoccupied with Slade to notice was the way his graveyard alert was tripped a second time that night. In fact, when he got back to his terminal, he dismissed the flashing icon as Slade's exit. If he had taken the time to read the information, he would have found that to be impossible.

Leaning against the cave wall, obscured in the shadows, the figure had heard every word Nightwing and Slade exchanged. The darkness was just barely enough to obscure the red slanted X across his white mask from both men as they parted ways. If any of what was said meant anything to him, he didn't show it.

Instead, once the cave was once again empty of other living beings, he walked out and stood in front of the grave. For a long moment, he stares down silently.

"Who's the moron now, kid?" He asked after finding his voice, placing a hand on the headstone. "If you had just waited a few more hours, if you had listened to your girl, I would have been there. I could have cured you. But that's how you've always dealt with things, isn't it? Silently bearing it out, playing at being noble." His other hand felt the bruised jaw under his mask. "I had thought you had more fight in you now. I thought that, maybe, if could hit me like that, you could fight this. Maybe if it was for her…" He shook his head.

"I brought you something. She asked me to the night we met for the last time. Not much good it can do you now." He produced a sealed vial containing a single, pure white flower with six thin petals and nestled it in the bright Tibetan wildflowers. "She called it the flower of life."

He paused again, eyes still locked on the headstone, then his hand falls and he turns away to follow Slade's exit. "It looks like death is determined to keep us from meeting again."

The cave darkness swallows him.

* * *

_One strand…_

_It's not in the circuitry, is it? It's not the machine that resists you, it's me! My spirit! That's the part you can't break!_

His solitary room was just silent enough to echo with those last words. It had been years since Cyborg had uttered them, yet they still played over and over in his head.

Brother Blood rolled over on his cot. He wasn't supposed to be updated on current events passed his walls, but the guards talked, and he had become adept at picking up even the faintest whispers. The Titans had fallen, briefly, taken down by the death of one of their own. There were rumors of hero academies, and of reported sightings of new heroes.

Fresh blood.

Then it struck him.

_Spirit._

He began to cackle loudly. The half-man had been right. All he needed to do was break their spirit. What better to break their spirit than their new found fear of death?

* * *

_Two strands…_

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Arella asked her daughter. She didn't like this sudden decision to leave, especially since it had only been a few hours since Raven's last wave of emotions shattered the support beams of the room she had been in. It was a miracle the building had not collapsed on her.

"No, mother, this is what I need." Raven had that gleam back in her eyes, the one Arella recognized as determination. Joining the Titans had been good for Raven.

"And what should I tell your friends when they call again." She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "And they will call again."

Not even the reminder of her friends was enough to make the girl pause in her packing."Tell them what I've been telling them all along: I need time to sort out my thoughts. Alone."

"Please, Raven, at least tell them where you will be going." Arella eyed the bag on her daughter's bed. It looked far to small to carry the essentials she would need to go on her own, and there was more than one book crammed inside already. Raven ignored her, slinging the packed bag over her shoulder.

"I can't. I don't even know myself."

"Then why are you going?"

"It's my fault Joe's dead," her daughter replied before disappearing into the black portal she had summoned. "I have to make things right again."

* * *

_She felt her focus spiraling out of control… __So many strands, all so intertwined in a single, knotted whorl of tragedy and desperate happiness, winding together in flashes of color…_

_A boy in blue punching the wall of Wayne Manor out of frustration…_

_An unexpected yellow flash of headlights…_

_A blood-red ritual…_

_Ruined white silk…_

_An orange fireball igniting the silhouette of a running man...  
_

_And finally, to end it all, a single, black and green eye._

It was more than she could take. Mel closed her eyes, shutting out the world she was fighting to protect.

_Six months. What's the worse that could happen?_

_Oblivion._


	2. Chapter 2: Beginnings

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.**

_**"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from."  
~T. S. Eliot**_

**Arch 1, Chapter 2: Beginnings**

_In the criminal-justice world, the people are subjected to two separate but equally important groups: the supervillains, who instigate crime, and the superheroes, who persecute the offenders._

_These are their stories._

_**DUN DUN**_

Mel groaned. Now her subconscious had a sense of _humor_.

_Yes,_ the little voice answered, _now get up and figure out this mess._

She groaned, but rolled over to comply. The world of brightly-colored threads still existed in the back of her head, but now it was tamer. No, wrong word, now it was more manageable to her mind. At least to the point where it wouldn't send her mind into overdrive. That was a good sign.

Her six-month plan was almost to an end, only a few days left to go, and she could already see that it had all been worth it, even the multiple trips through purgatory.

Just in case, she should go through it again.

_That's more like it,_ the little voice said approvingly, _now, from the beginning._

* * *

_June 21__st__: Day One, Jump City_

Though dawn had to have broken on the surface, the cave remained enclosed in its own eternal night. She was okay with that, the bright strands of life were easier to see in darkness. At the moment she was watching a beautiful thing happen: Dick was inspiring his Titans, unifying them into a single, incandescent cord.

"I died there." Slade's voice rang through the cavern, jarring. The strands wavered before it, fading into reality. Mel glimpsed area it had appeared to him that she had been staring at: the floor had the distinct black ridges of cooled lava.

"Do you remember her?"

"Who?" Slade had replaced his mask, but even so it was easy to read his facial expression by his eye.

"Death."

He looked her up and down for a moment, as if searching for the joke. "No, just heat."

Mel remembered Death. She missed her now and then. But rather than explain, she tossed her Titans communicator, the one that had belonged to Joe, to his father. "You should call Rose. Tell her to pick up Gotham's Robin for backup."

"That wasn't part of the plan." Something about wearing that mask made the older man more demanding and controlling. Sometimes it was like a switch had been thrown off in his mind, turning off all his humanity and leaving only a cool, calculating killer. Mel didn't like it.

"Yeah, but neither was Dick taking the rest of the Titans with him."

She heard the communicator turn on. "Slade?"

"Yes?"

"Your mask."

"Right." There was a soft, metallic _click_, and the low dial tone of a call waiting.

"Dad?" Rose sounded baffled.

"Hello, Rose."

Mel smiled. There was the father she was looking for.

* * *

_Later, Gotham City_

_Keep busy._ That was Bruce's, and later, almost word for word, Dick's advice on coping. So, for whatever reason, Jason followed it.

Why was he even trying to follow their advice? What did _they_ know about dealing with killing someone? What did they know about the broken memory, luridly recolored, playing over and over like a video on repeat? What did they know of the innocent terror in her eyes, or worse, the glimpse of hope and trust that he wiped away with a bullet?

She thought he had been there to save her.

Jason threw his water bottle against the exercise room wall.

Keep busy indeed.

The doorbell rang, interrupting his thought process. Jason sighed, and began to step in the shower. Just as he reached for the shampoo, he heard Alfred call.

"Jason, were you expecting a visitor?"

"No, Al," he called back, "but I'm a little busy here."

"I'm afraid-"

"Oh for christ's sake." That was most definitely a girl's voice, and from the sound of it, she was just outside the shower door. "Todd? Are you in there?"

"Who wants to know?"

"We don't have time for this. Put on the Robin costume and let's jet."

Jason turned the shower off. "You know?"

Al gave him an apologetic look as he stepped out of the shower. "I tried to stop her." Then he looked down. "Jason, you seemed to have forgotten your clothes."

Well, it was too late to go back and get them. Besides, he was more interested in this girl. She glared at him. Long, white hair, accusing blue eyes that didn't blush at the sight of him wearing only a towel, and Kevlar bodysuit. She was another masked hero. Maybe. "Yes, I know. I'm with the Titans, and they need us. Now get dressed already."

"If I may remind you, you are on house arrest, Master Todd."

She released a frustrated hiss. "Dick sent me."

Alfred studied her for a moment, then produced Jason's Robin costume out of nowhere. "Then we mustn't waste any more time."

"That's what I've been saying." She said, rolling her eyes. Jason took the costume wordlessly. This was turning out to be an interesting evening.

* * *

_June 23__rd__, Jump City_

Adeline Kane stood in the throng of reporters and journalists, slightly out of place without a press badge, notepad, or camera. Even so, no one bothered the brunette beauty. She had an air of efficiency about her, and her steeled green eyes seemed to search for the most painful way to dispose of whomever they were fixed on.

Currently that honor belonged to Nightwing. The former Boy Wonder had called this press conference to announce Melody's official capture, with hints of an even bigger announcement about the future of the Titans. He seemed calm, collected, with no sign of the ache and remorse he showed at Joey's funeral.

They got over him that fast.

Addie felt a heavy ball of bitter anger stir in her chest. Her son gave his life for this. As if Joe hadn't already given up so much…

"… think of it as the beginning of a hero academy."

The rest of the conference was lost on her. She felt the world drop away around her.

_They were creating an Academy to recruit more canon fodder._

Wasn't Joseph's life enough to convince them to stop these little charades? Did they need to take _more_ to feel _fulfilled_? Were they planning on _justifying_ her son's death with more death?

The heavy ball of anger melted, pouring through her veins, filling her completely. The Teen Titans had had their day. Now, she decided vehemently, it was time for the children to go home.

* * *

_Later_

Carol stormed away from the press conference. She could hardly believe the press was eating this up. The return of the fallen Titans. Psh.

"Excuse me." The familiar voice chilled her blood. Had she been found out finally? She turned to face the woman she once called her mother.

"Yes?" She said carefully in response. She saw no sign of recognition in Addie's eyes.

"You're Chloe Kettering, the reporter against the Titans, correct?" She asked. Carol relaxed. Her cover hadn't been blown.

"I am." She said.

A hand was extended. "I'm Addie Kane. I believe we have a common goal."

_We have more in common than that,_ Carol thought bitterly,_ but after what happened to Joe, I suppose we do._

"Why don't we grab a cup of coffee, Ms. Kane?"

"Addie, please," she said, "and that sounds like an excellent idea."

* * *

**A/n: So I meant to have this up sooner, but the world seems determined to give me new distractions. Like fanfic's new image thing? I'm all over that. Expect later updates with matching covers. Also, if you want crappy close ups, my deviantart account (same name) is about to become my fanfic cover dumpsite. Yay for distractions! Anyhow, I'll continue to work on my wall of stickynotes containing the plot for this fic and will try to update every week or so. No promises. Until next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3: June 22nd

**A/n: You've waited long enough, so here's a long chapter. Yay!  
**

**Disclaimer: See Chapter 2.**

"_**The reason I talk to myself is because I'm the only one whose answers I accept."  
~George Carlin**_

**Arch 1, Chapter 3: June 22****nd**

_You skipped a day, _the little voice said.

"I know. It wasn't important. No one really did anything that day." Mel replied. _Why am I even talking to it? It's me!_

_You've been locked in a cell for six months and have literally gone through hell and back multiple times, _it reminded her patiently, _you're going a little insane. And someone was very busy that day. You._

Mel sighed. "I didn't think I'd need to go over what I was up to as well," she grumbled.

_Like it or not, what you did was important in the events that unfold._

"Alright, alright."

* * *

_June 22__nd__, Jump City_

"You're sure this will hold her?" One of the men asked as he tapped against the glass.

_This isn't a zoo_, Mel wanted to snipe back, but she was supposed to be unconscious.

"This is quite possibly the only containment unit that qualifies as Level 5 in the world."

"She is a transdimensional traveler. That may still not be enough." The other man said as if Nightwing was unaware of this.

"We'll have a rotating shift of Titans familiar with dimension travelling watch over her." Nightwing replied, looking between the two. "Are we done trying to prove who's the most qualified to handle this prisoner? Because, and I can't emphasize this enough, _she's remaining with us_."

They shared a conspiratorial glance. "She will, as long as you remain the most qualified to take care of her."

It was a thinly veiled threat, but those were nothing to the leader of the Titans. "That, I can assure you, is a lifelong guarantee."

He was sure to send an apologetic look back at her as he ushered them out. She replied with a wink to set him at ease. She didn't mind losing face before two government goons as long as those goons didn't end up with custody over her. As soon as the door snapped shut behind him, she sat up, trying to get comfortable. It was going to be a long journey, and she was going to be sitting still for most of it.

First breath. She centered her mind, preparing to separate her conscious from her physical body.

Second breath. Autopilot set itself up, and she allowed the basic functions, save for breathing, to take rein and free her conscious to wander.

Third breath. She released that final function and stepped outside of her body. She was intangible to everyone save the handful of people specially tuned to the mental realm.

_Now, on to business._

* * *

Her first stop, one she made more out of curiosity and worry than anything else, was Slade. He had ended the lease on their Gotham apartment already, and it appeared that he had rented one in Jump. All this in less than seven hours. The man was nothing if not efficient. Currently he was on a plane ride between the two. Perfect.

_Sleep._ She whispered into his ear, and his eyelids snapped close. She slid into his mind, pulling him into a waking dream.

"_Mel?"_

"_Yes, it's me."_

_He pulled her into a rough hug. "You'll be alright?"_

"_Yes." She laughed as she slipped out of his grasp. "And Rose is an excellent fighter. She has a few rough patches, but they're easy fixes with enough training."_

_She isolated the memory of Rose fighting and passed it on to him. As soon as he was distracted, however, she took a closer look at his mental state. He looked the same as before, but if she didn't know any better she might say that his hair was a little curlier, and that he looked younger. _

"_You can do that?" Or maybe that was just the look of wonder on his face._

"_Yes."_

_Then he frowned. "That's the new Robin?"_

"_Jason Todd." She nods._

"_I don't like him."_

_Oops. Sorry, Jay. "He grows on people."_

"_Not on my daughter, he won't." Slade growled._

"_How'd you even pick up on that?"_

"_I know that look."_

"_I'll bet you do." She smiled as she watched Slade replay one particular part over and over: the part where Jason attempted to rush to Rose's aid and received a shoulder to the abdomen for it. "Slade, I need to know, will you be able to handle your own for a while?"_

_He looks at her in surprise, then laughs. "I think I can manage."_

"_I'm serious, Slade. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, and it's going to be a tough couple months."_

_He hand falls on her shoulder. "Mel, I'll be just fine. Do what you need to do. Just make it back safely."_

"_No promises." She looks over her shoulder. She had other people to visit today. "I need to go. No murderous rampages?"_

_He laughs again. "No promises. Be safe."_

"_I'll try."_

* * *

Mel leaves his unconscious in a snap. She had a mission to complete. She finds her next strand and follows it to a thirteen-year-old red-head. She's currently swinging at a playground, her angelic face alive with a smile.

_Lillith Clay._ The smile doesn't fade as she looks up at where Mel's conscious was stationed. Mel knew the girl couldn't really hear her, but she was highly perceptive even now, before her powers manifested. Mel kissed the girl's forehead. _Good luck._

* * *

Jason, out of costume, lay on the roof of Jump's Wayne Enterprises building. There was nothing between him and the clouds, and he almost enjoyed the feeling of the wind stripping the heat from his body. It took his mind off of the porcelain-doll face death had given that little girl. In fact, it almost made him sleepy…

_Jason awoke in an alleyway. It was just an alleyway, one of thousands that filled the cracks of Gotham. But this alley meant something to him. This one is where he tried to lift the tires of the Batmobile._

"_Jaybird." He whipped around._

"_Mel?"_

_She sat on one of the fire escapes, legs hanging over the edge. "Come, sit with me."_

_He crosses his arms over his chest. "You may have Dick in your back pocket, but I still don't trust you. And don't call me that."_

"_Fair enough," she shrugs before dropping to the street level. Before he knows it, she's hugging him. "Enjoy your next six months, Jaybird. Live, okay? You've had a hard life, and it's going to get harder."_

_For a moment, he doesn't know what to do. So he hugs her back. For a moment, his mind is at peace, then his instinct kicks in. But she's already standing in front of him with a few feet in between. Her dark blue eyes glow against the grayscale of Gotham's underbelly. He couldn't break eye contact._

"_Whatever you think, Jay," she said, "You are not alone."_

_She could see him._

_That scared him._

* * *

Jason woke with a start. Bruce was standing over him, looking down with some warm, unreadable expression.

"Are you alright, Jay?"

"I'm fine. Does Dick know you're here?" _What was he dreaming about just now?_ Jason couldn't remember.

"No. Not yet. I came as soon as Alfred told me where you were."

"You're not going to yell at me, are you?"

"About you running away to Jump despite being grounded in order to save your older brother's ass and possibly the world? No." Bruce sat next to him. "Do you need to talk?"

"'Bout what?" The words came out sounding harsher than he intended.

"About whatever." Bruce sighed. _Now I've done it,_ Jay thought, _right as Bruce's stonewalls were opening._ "Jay, I'm sorry."

"What? About what?"

"About me. About being distant and reclusive, and not being a good father."

"Bruce, stop." Jason looked close to tears. "Right now," he managed to say with dry eyes, "I'm just glad to have any kind of father at all."

Bruce doesn't know what to say, so instead he pulls Jason into a hug.

From above, Mel takes off. Her work here was done.

* * *

Addie had dipped a little farther into the whiskey bottle than she originally planned. But she didn't care. First Grant, now Joe.

_Slade._

He had given them to her, then taken them away. Her boys. Her little boys.

_She looked around, disoriented. She was at the beach, where so many of her happiest memories took place. There was a girl in the sand dunes, glowing blue eyes and dark hair._

"_You."_

"_Addie."_

_She took a swing, but it merely swept through the girl, as if she were a ghost. "Why didn't you save him?"_

"_I tried."_

_Addie sees the truth in this. She collapses, feeling the girl's arms wrap around her._

"_Was he happy?"_

"_Yes, I made sure of it." And Addie begins to cry. Mel holds her close. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more."_

* * *

X looks up. He's almost there. Getting this flower was a pain in the ass, but he did. Now he had to hurry back. Joe needed it, badly. But something he senses made him stop. He looked around, cursing the combination of heightened caution and heightened sensitivity.

This time it wasn't for nothing, he could make out a faint female form in the air. His heart drops. "I'm too late, aren't I?"

_It's not your fault. He chose to go._

X punched one of the mountainous rocks around him. "DAMN IT!"

He felt a light pressure on his shoulder. _It's not over yet._

Another faint pressure, against his forehead.

_Thank you for helping me. You didn't have to risk yourself like this._

She didn't understand. He _did_ have to risk himself. What was left?

_Rose is thinking about joining the Titans._

X looked up. "Is she now?"

* * *

Carol sat in a coffee shop, waiting for the world to end. But it didn't. It hadn't, not even when Mel's timer hit zero. Was there still a chance? The coffee shop continued to move around her, fully colored and alive with chatter.

"It looks like they did it again." Carol overheard a teenage boy telling the barista. She laughs.

"Yeah, too bad. I almost thought I wouldn't have to come in to work today."

She snorted into her coffee. If the Titans won, it was because Melody had staged them to win. They may still have hope, but Carol wasn't fooled. Those _heroes_ were just idols. These kids had no idea just how caustic the Titans were to those around them. Her notebook dropped to the floor, which she found odd. She could have sworn she had left it in her purse, not on the table next to her bagel…

"This Melody girl." The words rang out to Carol, clearer now that her head was angled so that her ear was directed at the table where a teenage boy sat with his friends. "I'm not sure about her. The news calls her a villain, but was she really?"

"I know what you mean, Justin," the sturdy-looking blonde girl on his right said. Carol started observing them out of the corner of her eye. They looked average on the first glance, but she noted steel-toed boots, outdoor cloth meant for soldiers and explorers. They weren't your average circle of friends. "She wasn't trying to take over the world, she was trying to better it. She wanted the Titans to take responsibility for their loss."

"That's what I'm saying," Justin said. He was obviously the leader of this group. Actually, Carol thought as she noted his Kevlar weave shirt and military-grade pants, he was a little intense, even for them. "They labeled her a sympathetic terrorist, but I think that takes it too far. She was just a girl who could and would have changed the world. I would do what she did, and that makes her one of us."

"Yeah," his group agrees, bobbing their heads. Another boy leans back. "You know, if the media was going far enough to label her as a villain, I wonder, are the other so-called villains actually villains?"

Everything clicked at once. Carol saw a new plan on taking down the Titans in her head. She couldn't outright attack them as she had before. No, now the public would only dismiss her as a bitter, ungrateful loon. She needed another way of attacking them, one that played up the sympathy of the public against the Titans.

What better way than making the villains people, too?

* * *

His name was Damien Darhk, and he could take care of himself. As he roamed the streets of Chicago, he couldn't help but laugh. The Black Market had been closed today, as had most of the bars where his usual business took place. These idiots actually believed that Melody had bite to her bark? He knew the moment she gave them seven days that she was muzzling herself. Though he had to admit, that Justice League stunt was pretty impressive. It had to be embarrassing for the goody-goodies. Darhk wondered if they would try to save face, and how they would go about it. It might be interesting.

_You would think that they would know better, wouldn't you._

Damien stopped. The street he was on was empty. He would have noticed life by now if it wasn't.

_You can't see me, but you can hear me. What does that suggest, Mr. Highly Intelligent?_

No movement, not echo off the brick walls or the ground, which could only mean, _That you're mental._

_Good deduction. _She didn't sound impressed.

_What do you want with me, Melody?_

_There we go, much better deducting. In the next month, you might want to start amassing knowledge on the H.I.V.E. and on potential members._

_Why would I do that?_

He felt a faint pressure on his chest.

_You act the part of bad boy very well, Darhk, but you have a heart. What is it telling you to do?_

He looked down in surprise. Something was stirring in his chest, something he had been aware of but hadn't acknowledged. _It wants me to act._

_Good, Darhk._ Another faint pressure, on his forehead, _That's a good start. You have six months. Use them wisely._

This time, he was absolutely sure he was alone. He shook his head. _Maybe she does have a bite. Maybe it's just a different kind of bite._

* * *

Vandal Savage watched the tapes over and over again. The Teen Titans had surprised him by out-performing the Justice League. He had to shift gears, had to focus on them now, they were his biggest threat. He needed more data, lists of weak points and of personal flaws. More. More. More.

Currently he was on the digital videos of the Brotherhood of Evil's downfall, material one of his many pre-programmed search bots managed to find and download. It was nothing specials, their methods in this particular battle were direct and very reminiscent of earlier battles. It didn't show him what made them special, only what made them alive: persistence, patience, and dumb luck. Something redirected his eyes, drawing them to an over-weight redhead. He looked like the kind that would outsmart his opponents. Maybe he would have more answers…

* * *

Mel floated through the high school. The uniforms were drab, but they also made her target easier to find in the mess. There, in the heavily sedated English class. Mel swooped down and kissed the girls forehead, there wasn't enough time for more. She had other strands to redirect.

"Ms. Markov!" The English professor said. The girl with straight blonde hair sat up in a snap. She had been daydreaming, again.

* * *

Mel could feel her time running out. She had five more people left to go, perhaps the most important five she would visit. So she found them, one by one.

* * *

Dick was still awake, staring at the black costume on the work board. His suit had a name, but he had no idea how to best represent that on the costume. He sure as hell wasn't going carnival on this one, he still didn't know what he was thinking on his first suit, but at the same time, it was missing something.

_Dick._

He turned around. "Mel?"

_Yes._

He frowned. She wasn't supposed to be able to move in her cell without him being immediately notified. "What are you doing here?"

_Tying up loose ends._

He felt her lips brush against his forehead. His hand immediately claps over the skin, which tingled slightly. "What did you just do?"

_Relax, Dick, it was a kiss goodbye. Thank you, for trusting me._

"Where are you going?"

_Nowhere yet. My body is still downstairs, but I will have to go soon. We won't have much time to talk later._

"Well then, you're welcome. Thanks for the harrowing journey of self-reflection."

She laughs. _I'm glad you enjoyed it._

"I wouldn't say I enjoyed it, but I did need it."

_I know. I have to go now, but I have one last word of advice. Don't turn away all the new recruits. If you're going to see this through, you'll need all the Titans you can get. Just make sure that they're Titan material, okay? Actually, just trust Clay._

"Clay?"

_You'll know what I mean._

Cryptic, like always. "Uh, sure. Goodbye, I guess."

_Goodbye._

Dick turned back to the suit. Suddenly, an image struck him, and he knew what it was going to look like.

* * *

_Starfire._

The Tamaranian's head lifted out from her pillow. "Who is there?"

_Come on, Starfire, it isn't like you to brood._

"Mel?"

_Yes._

"Why are you here?"

_To apologize. I didn't mean to cause such a rift between you and Dick._

"What do you know of my feelings?"

_Not much, admittedly, but I do know of his. He loves you, he loves you so much it scares him sometimes. He would give up his world for you, Starfire, and nothing, not even me, could change that. You are his everything._

She buries her head farther in her pillow, trying to block out what Mel was saying. "Why are you telling me this?"

_Because I planted the seed of doubt, but mostly because he needs you more than anything now. His job is going to be impossible in the next few months, and he will need you by his side as his support. Can you do that?_

She sits up slowly, a slight pressure on her mind. "Of course."

_Good, Star. Thank you. I'm counting on you._

"Before you leave, may I ask a question of you?"

There was a brief hesitation. _Yes._

"Do you love him?"

_Star, if I make it back, I want you to ask me that question again. But for now, all I can say is everything I did, I did because I love Joseph as much as you love Dick._

Starfire was sure the girl had left the room. She leaned back, trying to digest everything the other girl had said. Something about the way she said them bothered her.

* * *

Beast Boy sighed, burying his face into the arm holding his communicator. He had finally gotten a hold of Raven, only to have the most awkward conversation of his life.

"I shouldn't have brought up narwhals," he muttered to no one in particular.

_Why? She enjoyed it._

"Who are you and why are you in my room?"

_Relax, Garfield, it's me, Mel._

"That's supposed to make me relax? You put me in a coma! Twice!"

_Nothing personal, I just needed to make sure what the love of my life died for was actually worth dying for._

Beast Boy calmed down. "I can accept that. So why are you here?"

_Just tying up loose ends._

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow. "And I'm a loose end?"

_Let me ask you a hypothetical._

"A hypo-what-ical?"

_Say Terra came back. What would you do?_

"I- How- What are you saying?"

_Just consider it. _His forehead tingled. _You may need to answer that question soon._

* * *

Cyborg stared at the logistics in disbelief. He had no idea where Robin, excuse him, _Nightwing_ was getting these numbers, but wherever they came from must be stinking rich because Cyborg had never seen this many numbers strung together as a final sum, and he had seen total sums that would beggar multi-million dollar corporations.

_But you still trust him._

"Mel, why are you out of your cage?"

_I'm not, technically._

Cyborg glanced at the screen. It was true, Mel was still in the room, sitting with her head in her hands. "Okay, then why are you here? Now?"

_I have to go soon, to answer for what I did, and before I go I needed to talk to you all._

"Right. And what brings you to me?"

_These next couple months are going to try to undo everything about you. They're going to try to take you apart.  
_

"Sounds familiar."

_This is just a heads up, Vic. Be strong, remember everything you've learned about yourself, and, whatever you do, don't lose yourself. They need you._

He felt something press against his forehead. "What are you saying?"

No answer. Cyborg shook his head and returned to the budget. "Anymore cryptic and she'd be the next Nostradamus." He muttered.

* * *

Finally, Raven. It had taken all Mel had not to rush to the empathy. She was the most important piece in this puzzle, not to mention the most unstable. Her room was plain, Spartan compared to all the others Mel had ended up: an empty room with a dark blue chair, a lamp, a single row of books, and a neat, dark blue bed. It felt like a temporary holding cell, which was apparently how the occupant felt, though, currently, she was giggling at her communicator.

_Narwhals, right?_

Raven turned around. She didn't seem surprised at all. _Were you eavesdropping?_

_No, but I did just talk with the little green guy myself._ Mel caught the warning signals. Raven was smiling, but her eyes were angry slits. Her words were polite, but they had an edge to them. Still, Mel let it happen.

Raven's hands glowed with black energy as she grabbed Mel's conscious where her throat would be if she were physical. _Don't touch my emotions. You may have the others fooled, you may have tampered with their level of trust so that they start opening up to you, but that won't work on me._

_I know._

_Then why did you come here?_

_Because, like it or not, your world needs me._

_Don't flatter yourself. We were fine before you, we will be fine after you._

_You say that, but you don't believe it._

Raven's grip tightened. _I told you, stay out of my head!_

Mel refused to show any sign of weakness. _I can't. I see your history and your thoughts and your emotions the way you see people's faces. I can't change that._

Raven threw her away from her. _Then leave. I don't need you here._

_I can't._

_Why is that?_

_Because I fell in love._

Raven glanced back at her. _With Dick?_

_With Joe._ Mel thought firmly._ With your world._

_And?_ Raven's shoulder relaxed.

_What I did isn't over. Things didn't go according to plan. They're in danger and they don't even know it._

Maybe not the best way to put. Raven went rigid again. _Things looked like they went according to plan._

_I missed something, something that should have been obvious to me from the start, and because of that, your friends are going to be destroyed from the inside out._ The desperation Mel had been able to hide from everyone else started to creep back into her voice._ If that happens, the world will follow._

Raven paused for a moment, considering her. Then, mouth in a hard line, the empathy accepted her words as truth. _What do you want from me?_

_I'm just here to warn you. I have to go, and when I do, you all will be on your own. Help them, please._ She stepped closer to the girl.

A wall of complicated emotions rose from Raven's stomach, the chief of them guilt. _I don't know if I can._

_You don't need to yet. I know you need to help yourself first._ Mel lightly allowed her hand to rest on the empath's shoulder. It wasn't shrugged off. _So do that. Just be ready for me when I get back. _She leaned closer.

_Don't._ Raven warned.

Mel backed off, but before she went, she offered Raven a small, glowing blue ball. _Joe made this for you when he wrote his will._

_What is it?_ Raven took it in her hand. She could feel Joe's aura around it. It was authentic.

_A message. I have to go now, Raven. Just, don't give up, okay? They need you._

_I'll try._

_That's all anyone can ask from you._

* * *

Mel opened her eyes. It had been a long day, but she had done all that she could for the moment. The gears were in motion, she just had to trust them to keep turning, to continue on until she could return.

But for now, she had time to herself. Now she could rest, and, hopefully, dream of a pair of bright green eyes.


End file.
